Protein / Protein Powder / Side Effects

[WhiteHusky1975]

I have really amped up the intensity and duration of my workouts and I'm trying to build muscle. I'm eating well but still not getting enough protein to help me build muscle. Not even close. So I started taking a scoop of Syntha-6 daily post-workout 10 days ago. Three of those 10 days I used 2 scoops. One in the morning and a second one post-workout later the day.

The positives: It upped my protein intake, it tastes GREAT and I can really tell the difference in my recovery. For these reasons, I love it.

The negative: I have experienced a troublesome side effect (constipation). After a week of taking Syntha-6 I stopped taking it for two days and my body's digestive system returned to normal.

I'm feeling a real conundrum here because it was greatly aiding my recovery and therefore I would prefer to continue using the Syntha-6. I'm not sure if adding fiber to the Syntha-6 when I drink it would be beneficial or if there are other ways to increase my protein. I know I can obviously eat more protein, but that's going to be somewhat difficult as I hit my calorie target daily and am never anywhere close to the protein intake I need to build muscle onto my frame.

Any ideas out there? Has anyone else experienced this side effect? If so, were you able to find a way to keep using the product without said side effect?

[PaleoCrossfit]

150 grams of protein does seem a bit high. In my experience, 0.84 x body weight = grams of protein you should consume to gain muscle. So, for you, that'd be 126 grams a day.

@WhiteHusky1975 

[Dominique]

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@WhiteHusky1975 wrote:
On the days that I got to 100 grams, it was only with the Syntha-6 (which I haven't used in 4 days now due to the side effect I experienced).

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I'm not familiar with Syntha-6, but I had a look at the ingredients and it doesn't look too good to me:

Protein Blend (Whey# Protein Concentrate, Whey# Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate, Micellar Casein#, Calcium Caseinate#, Egg Albumen, Emulsifier: Soy Lecithin), Sunflower Oil Powder (Milk), Thickeners (Polydextrose, Cellulose Gum), Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder (7.8%), Flavourings, Medium Chain Triglyceride Powder (Milk), Sodium Chloride, Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Sucralose), Glutamine Peptides

Lots of stuff I wouldn't want to eat. And a 47g serving only contains 22g of protein, so you're buying it for the protein, but it doesn't contain even half of the thing. Not good.

As I said, I primarily try to get protein through my normal diet and I only use whey powder as a supplement, on days when I may not get my 80-100g from real food. If so, I have been using MyProtein Impact Whey Isolate, unflavoured. It contains 93g of protein per 100g and it mixes reasonably well with milk and raw cocoa powder. I usually throw in half a ripe banana to make it sweet.

[Korisu56]

I'd like to chime in here, man.  

Your requirement is going to be based on both your individual body type and goal.  First off, consider the source of folks you're querying for advice.  With that said, a very little background so you don't think I'm one sided:

I'm 30, 6' and 202.5lbs at 13-17% BF (my sweet spot for 5-3-1 training).  I've been 168lbs (2013 for triathlon training), 240lbs waddling "power lifter" (college; quotations for sarcasm), and a 240lbs lazy couch potato (sad phase).  I've done natural diet challenges (e.g Whole 30), vegan dieting (loved it during endurance training), paleo, See-it-Eat-it, etc and all for a minimum of 30 days, usually 6-8 weeks. Currently, I am 6 weeks deep in the Carb Backloading plan and am enjoying it the most out of challenges and plan to continue it into my next phase of training.  I get 3050 calories a day to lose weight, log every single thing I eat in MyFitnessPal with custom macros set to 40-30-30 (carbs-protein-fat) and use the ChargeHR for monitoring.

Back to your question at hand...Yarddog is completely correct.  Supplements are completely unnecessary.  You can do your workouts and train without supplements and be just fine.  That said, I take a protein supplement and pre-workout because I wake up at 0345 for my training and it's a helluva lot easier to shake a cup than it is to eat another meal.  If you're getting stopped up, add more greens or a natural fiber supplement like chia seeds.  

Also, just like Dominique said, check your goals with your intake.  If you're doing crossfit and trying to gain weight, just upping your protein isn't going to cut it dude.  1800 calories isn't much.  What's your height? 

[_daniel_]

"The positives: It upped my protein intake, it tastes GREAT and I can really tell the difference in my recovery. For these reasons, I love it."

@WhiteHusky1975   What is the difference in your recovery that you are noticing?   Is it possible that you would notice the same difference if you simply drank a class of chocolate milk post-workout? 

[WhiteHusky1975]

@Dominique, you continue to be exceptionally helpful. So thank you for that. There must be something in the water in Finland! (I have a good friend from Helsinki who studied in the U.S. for a few years and is now back at home in Finland raising a young daughter ... she's a great person.)

Anyway, I don't weigh in daily. I weigh in once per week. The reason for that is because I was in a weight-loss mode and didn't want to become discouraged by checking daily. As I begin to taper out of the weight loss mode I will weigh in more often to keep myself accountable.

You brought up lots of good questions/info, as always.

1) Yes, I'm still wanting to lose some weight. Why? Well, my BMI is now in the acceptable range, but it's on the higher end of it. I am okay with weighing 150 pounds, but I want it to be a more muscular 150. So my thinking here is that I want to lose another 7-8 pounds from where I am right now. This will put me at 141-142 pounds, which is still well within the "good" BMI for me. I'd like to then add 7-8 pounds of muscle over time. That gets me back to 150, but it's a much stronger/more muscular 150 than what I now have.

I have a small frame and am not genetically disposed to "bulking up" or adding a lot of muscle. I'm not ever going to be the guy with broad shoulders and huge arms. I'm going for more of a lean muscle, which is why I chose CrossFit. It gives me more weightlifting than I've ever done before (I'm a cyclist/runner) but also gives me a cardio challenge. I realize there are other strength building options for me, but I'm not into the real heavy weightlifting scene. I should have clarified previously that I'm looking to add more muscle, but not trying to look like a bodybuilder! I just want to be able to see my abs and have a chest that sticks out further than my gut and have some sort of definition in my arms and back but nothing over-the-top, if that makes sense. Like I said, I'm a cyclist and a runner first and everything else is secondary. I gained so much weight because I tore my hamstring and have been recovering and then fell into a lull of not working out, not cycling and not eating right. 30 pounds later I had enough and was ready to get back to shape!

2) I didn't even know what BMR and TDEE were. Thank you for that info and for bringing it to my attention. I really appreciate it. I find it very interesting. According to my FitBit, I burn between 2,800 and 3,100 calories daily. Over the past two weeks, 2,759 was my low and 3,371 was my high. I'm pretty active. I get in between 10,000-15,000 steps most days and certain things I do, like rowing or cycling or much of the  CrossFit (pullups, weights) really don't register steps. I do log that info afterwards though to get a more true measurement of my calories burned.

So I can see that 1,800 calories a day definitely are not adequate to helping me add muscle. I will still be in weight loss mode for another 3 weeks roughly as I get off these last 8 pounds. From there I will up my calories as I look to add muscle weight. It looks like I'm going to need to eat closer to 2,400 calories per day when I try to build muscle. Believe me, I look forward to that!

3) One of the things I find interesting on the link you sent about BMR and TDEE was this morsel of information:

"Once you know your TDEE using the TDEE Calculator, you will be able to figure out your macros. In general try to eat:
- Protein: 1 gram per pound of body weight
- Fat: .45 grams per pound of body weight
- Carbs: The remaining number of calories left will be filled with carbs".

The one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is exactly what my CrossFit coach advised as well. That means 150 grams of protein for me. Here is a look at my protein intake for the last week:

- 79 grams

- 75 grams

- 104 grams

- 93 grams

- 119 grams

- 65 grams

- 101 grams

I have not used the protein powder in a week now in order to avoid the negative side effect I experienced. However, if I had been taking two scoops of it per day I could add 50 grams of protein per day. That would have had my lowest day of protein at 115 grams and helped me hit that 150 grams.

Hence the crossroads to which I've arrived in terms of whether I need the protein. I appreciate the validity of what @SunsetRunner is saying about the supplement being unnecessary, but even when I increase my calories to 2,400 per day will I be able to hit that mark unless I eat nothing but chicken?

[WhiteHusky1975]

@Dominique , @SunsetRunner and @PaleoCrossfit, you have definitely convinced me that Syntha-6 is not for me. I think my body already told me that after using it for a week and becoming constipated, LOL.

I'm new to this and know very little to nothing about the subject matter. As I look further into the Syntha-6 ingredients, which @Dominique so politely pointed out, I see that Syntha-6 isn't exactly the best stuff. If I choose to supplement with protein, I can certainly do better. I'm looking into the Met-RX that @PaleoCrossfit recommended as well as other options, including simply getting my protein from whole foods as @SunsetRunner recommends. In fact, @SunsetRunner and @Dominique, I have no doubt that your way of getting it from the food you eat is the best way. My problem, as I illustrated in my previous post, is that I haven't been able to do that. As you see, some days my protein intake is in the 60s or 70s. If I need 125-150 grams to build muscle onto my frame, I don't see how to accomplish that within my calorie range. What am I missing here?

[WhiteHusky1975]

@Korisu56, I realize I'm probably not talking to registered dieticians or doctors on here. So I do vet that input before determining how seriously to take it and then supplement it further with my own research. My height is 5'7". I have a small frame that works great for cycling and running and struggles to add muscle mass, which is what I'm currently trying to do.

I realize that 1,800 calories isn't enough. Once I stop losing weight I will be increasing that intake.

Welcome to the discussion and thanks for stepping in. I'm about to put myself into a 40-30-30 plan myself to see if it helps.

[SunsetRunner]

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@WhiteHusky1975 wrote:

Hence the crossroads to which I've arrived in terms of whether I need the protein. I appreciate the validity of what @SunsetRunner is saying about the supplement being unnecessary, but even when I increase my calories to 2,400 per day will I be able to hit that mark unless I eat nothing but chicken?

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There is protein in virtually everything you eat (even lettuce, look it up), so

you don't need protein supplements (even a vegetarian gets plenty).

[WhiteHusky1975]

@_daniel_, very fair and legitimate question.

The recovery I alluded to was the fact that I went to CrossFit and worked exceptionally hard for 8 straight days and was very minimally sore and felt strong and not "broken down" the next day. I have never had this experience working out previously.

I cycle quite a bit when I'm in shape (I cycled very little in 2014, sadly). After really long and hard rides of 50 miles or more I usually really feel it the next day. Chocolate milk did help me with that, but never to the degree that the protein powder helped me recover during CrossFit.

I have not taken the protein powder in a week now due to the side effect. I took yesterday and today off from CrossFit due to soreness and a general "weak" and "broken" down feeling in my shoulders that wasn't there when taking the protein powder.

Would chocolate milk help? I don't know. But I'm going to give it a try. If it mirrors my cycling experience, however, I suspect the recovery aid will be minimal as compared to the protein shake. I'll update you after I try it for a few days. I'll be returning to CrossFit tomorrow after my brief rest break.

[Korisu56]

@WhiteHusky1975 Sweet, we have similar frames.  I was waayyy easier at 175-180 for maintaining.  I have a super carb-sensitive body too.  Can make or break me. However, I really wanted to get stronger for work.  I have a goal of being just a hair bit heavier at about 210. 

Are you compensating your calories burned during workouts or just hitting 1800 regardless of level of activity?  I found that I was killing myself when I didn't compensate.  

Lastly, the way I make up for protein shortages is through chicken breast/thighs, eggs, and center cut boneless pork chops.  I like the eggs because I can cut them between whole and whites depending on my fat/protein balance requirement.  If you jump up your meal count instead of supplements (5-6 legitimate meals per day) then its totally attainable. Just gotta devote the time to prepare and plan the first week or so until you get a feel for your requirements.  

Typical day for me is:

-0345- Wake up protein shake/pre workout (sub in almonds & coffee for natural)

0415-0600- Gym, followed by shake & creatine (my meal would be breakfast here)

0715- Breakfast of 3 whole eggs, 3 whites, 1x slice of cheese, 1 cup spinach

1100- Lunch of Cauliflauer fried rice (cauliflauer makes a good rice sub) with chicken/pork & veggies

1500- almonds/cashews

1830- Dinner of chicken breast/salmon/pork chop/steak and steamed veggies with whatever carbs I want to meet the gram requirements

2100- If any leftover requirements, eat a snack to fill 

If I had to add another meal instead of the post-gym shake, I'd have another chicken and veggie tupperware ready to go.  

Again, this is doing carb-backloading every night, holding off on carbs until dinner time when I'm within my 12 hr window.  If I weren't doing that, I'd have oatmeal in the morning, PB&J for a snack, etc.  

Hope it helps man.  Nutrition can be so specific to the person that it requires a lot of tooling around to figure it out for you so that you find what sustainable.  

[WhiteHusky1975]

@Korisu56, thanks dude. Helpful indeed.

No, I haven't compensated for my workout. I've stuck to 1,800 whether I lay on the couch all day or whether I work out like a beast. But, again, that's because I had 30 excess pounds that needed to go. I realize I could eat more now and still lose weight. But I've gotten so conditioned to eating 1,800 that I really and truly do not go to be hungry. Still, as I start to transition from weight loss to muscle gain I know I need to eat more. And obviously on days I burn 3,000 calories I know I definitely can't add muscle by only eating 1,800.

It's going to be very difficult for me to figure out how many calories to eat once I want to no longer lose weight. It's going to take a few weeks of experimentation, I'm sure. Although I admit I do look forward to that somewhat. The key is for me to gain muscle and not simply add fat back on. I know that's going to depend on what I eat even more so that how I work out.

Since you brought up creatine, I've wondered if that would be beneficial to me. But I'm scared of side effects, especially since I experienced one from protein without the creatine.

[Korisu56]

@WhiteHusky1975 Instead of being fixated on the 1800, how about aiming for a deficit % or target?  You'd control your weight loss to a healthier rate and avoid yo-yo'ing.  MyFitnessPal (MFP) has a useful tool when I close out my entry for the day and it says "if you ate like this for 5 weeks, you'd be XXX.X lbs".  I generally close out before I actually eat dinner so I'm forced to plan and I can react if my planned meal doesn't fit my needs.  I dont' know about FitBit's logging, but I know MFP uses the FitBit data to balance my Net Cals. 

Have you heard of IIFYM.com?  It stands for If It Fits Your Macros and helps ball park your caloric needs based on goals while allowing you to customize how you break your intake down (%, 1g/lbs, etc).  It'll help you get your target, then you can build a one-day meal plan to figure out how to meet it.  

As far as creatine goes, I used to shun it.  People abused it, so it got a ton of negative press and companies put some in their "proprietary blends".  You can get flavorless Dymatize Micronized Creatine (straight creatine) for super cheap.  Add a teaspoon a day post workout or with some carbs to help your muscles out.  I don't abuse it, I'm strict about intake, and once every training block (6-12 weeks, depending on programming) I'll cycle off my pre-workout and creatine so that they remain effective.  

Seriously, I used to knock creatine, protein powder, and pre-workout.  Once I got serious about lifting weights and conditioning (run for work), I locked down my diet and spent the money on good supplements (subjective).  I use the JYM series pre workout and protein.  He lists his ingredients out and has some great programs that I did (Shortcut to Shred twice and Shortcut to Size once).  I don't use his post because I just bought some generic dextrose for super cheap and add have a scoop of creatine, plus its expensive. Ha.  

[WhiteHusky1975]

@Korisu56, I had never heard of IIFYM.com until a couple of hours ago when @Dominique directed me to a TDEE calculator there. Interesting stuff. I'm going to explore it in more detail tonight and see what I get out of it.

And I think you are spot on about me working off a calorie deficit percentage now as opposed to being so strict with my 1,800. That, at the time, really was the only way I knew to hold myself accountable and make sure I lost the weight. Nearly 25 pounds later I don't have to worry about that as much now.

Most weeks my calorie deficit is over 10,000. I'm almost ALWAYS above 1,400 on a daily calorie deficit. Time to start eating more 🙂

[Korisu56]

@WhiteHusky1975 Sorry for the duplication of information regarding the IIFYM.com.  Great calculator to give you the starting point to tweak.  

Now's the fun part, brother!  Eat clean, eat a lot!  I really do love it.  Good luck to you and follow up on whether you settled on supplements, natural, and on the diet stuff.  Obviously I enjoy talking about this stuff.  To think I just checked out the FitBit community on a whim today. ha

[KitOnTheRiver]

@Dominique  Thank you for all of your imput.  I had a very similar question about protein intake and supplements.  I am new to the body building world, but I am determined to sculpt my physique.  You're comments are very helpful.
@WhiteHusky1975  Thanks for this thread it answered a lot of my own questions about bulking up, and loosing the fat.  

[Gumdrop]

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@WhiteHusky1975 wrote:

I have really amped up the intensity and duration of my workouts and I'm trying to build muscle. I'm eating well but still not getting enough protein to help me build muscle. Not even close. So I started taking a scoop of Syntha-6 daily post-workout 10 days ago. Three of those 10 days I used 2 scoops. One in the morning and a second one post-workout later the day.

The positives: It upped my protein intake, it tastes GREAT and I can really tell the difference in my recovery. For these reasons, I love it.

The negative: I have experienced a troublesome side effect (constipation). After a week of taking Syntha-6 I stopped taking it for two days and my body's digestive system returned to normal.

I'm feeling a real conundrum here because it was greatly aiding my recovery and therefore I would prefer to continue using the Syntha-6. I'm not sure if adding fiber to the Syntha-6 when I drink it would be beneficial or if there are other ways to increase my protein. I know I can obviously eat more protein, but that's going to be somewhat difficult as I hit my calorie target daily and am never anywhere close to the protein intake I need to build muscle onto my frame.

Any ideas out there? Has anyone else experienced this side effect? If so, were you able to find a way to keep using the product without said side effect?

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disclaimer: I haven't read any of the other replies

yes.  with nearly all of the ones I've tried too. I've sort of come to hate how I have to adapt protein powders for my stupid guts because powders are supposed to be so quick and simple.  I ended up quitting a diet set by a place that was phenomenal about helping folks go through a diet & workout routine for muscle building and fat loss. like you I was trying to add powders for cost and convenience. I ended up with wicked constipation and I just couldn't keep it up for weeks one end...I mean some people joke about it but it's horrible and painful..and a little disheartening when you've got great muscle composition results with the diet but it's tearing you up on the inside too. how do you keep it up when you just start feeling so sick? I kept trying different brands (not that that was any cheaper than just buying the meats lol) muscle milk was one of the ones I did better with, as was rainbow light's allergen free rice protein.

to drink any protein powder with a shaker bottle I found out I had to add fiber: acacia, chia seed meal, flax meal, psyllium husk. the soluble fiber (acacia) tended to work a little better..but I still had some issues. you might try this. depending on how bad your constipation is, a little spoonful of acacia powder added in might just be perfect for you. I did try some higher fiber blends..but the chicory they used didn't sit well. (indigestion) I also found some of the higher fat powders digested a little better.

I've found THE BEST solution was to basically make a green smoothie and add the mix in that. a nutri ninja blend with some berries and spinach, and other stuff (I still add a little chia and such)  seems to help even out how the food goes through the full digestion process. oddly I couldn't just eat a salad and drink the protein mix. I still had constipation that way. I also tried veggie sticks, apples, pears, dragon fruit, even prunes as snacks to eat with the shaker bottle mix...still had issues. blended in as a smoothie seems best for me.

hope...any of that helps.

[slysam]

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@PaleoCrossfit wrote:

@WhiteHusky1975 so far I have loved it (granted, this is my first tub, but still). Maybe you could use the Syntha-6 in smoothies (just so you aren't wasting your money). I make a green smoothie almost every day (spinach, kale, almond milk, half an advocado, banana, frozen mango, scoop of protein). If you used the syntha-6 in a smoothie like that (even just every once in a while), the fiber in the greens might counteract the negative side effects of the protein? I'm not 100% sure on that though, as I quite using it cold turkey because I was tired of being tired!

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That was my thought though I am not at all familiar with the Synntha-6. I have never had an issue with protein powders when I've used them, but I usually used them to add protein to fruit or vegetable smoothies. My first thought was wondering whether more fiber would help you.

[hockeyguynick]

Just to add my 2 cents, I personally haven't had any issues taking protein in moderation. I use ON Gold Standard whey protein, it's mostly isolate. I'm no fitness expert at all, but from the research I've done your best bet is to look at the label, the highest percentage of protein compared to serving size is gonna be the best bang for the buck, means it doesn't have a whole lot of extra junk in it. Typically you want it to be 80% or higher. Plus, and I try to eat fruits and veggies along with the protein

[LeanMachine]

Just throwing in my 2 cents as my experience.

I have always been a supplement fan, because it is unreal the amount of food i would have to eat to consume the amount of nutrients i need. 

My past:

At age of 16 i began working out (168lbs) and started on Weight Gainer + Eating massive portions of carbs / proteins. I was training twice a day at the gym and sleeping throughout the day or playing soccer.

I made Provincial championship for 400m and 6.6km races + we got Provincial championships in Soccer for my last year in Highschool.

By end of highschool i was 195lbs and was not happy that i could not break 200lbs. I went on Winstrol V + Dianabol stack for 1 cycle and sky rocketed to 238lbs, using a post cycle i kept most of it. I was in a bad car accident (T boned from both sides in a little 92' honda civic hatchback), the doctors told me i was lucky because of my muscle mass, i only had minor issues with muscle spasms in my right shoulder. I was not allowed to have any physical activity for a year and that ruined my life.

When i was allowed to train again, it just wasn't the same. On and Off for the past 13 years (only 4 weeks ago i am fully committed to complete this lifestyle change again).

In those 13 years i have tested a crap load of supplements. (from legal and illegal and only NOW banned aka Ephedrine) I have seen things work and things giving bad side effects.

My current stats as of today are: 261lbs 27.8% body fat

I am training doing P90X (love the classic) + jogging (because of Heybales advice i lowered the intensity of jogs) I was doing 30+km a week + 35km walks with dogs. Now i am doing 15km a week + 35km walks with dogs.

Protein: After trying a crapload of protein powders, my favourite has to be Dymatize ISO-100 Protein   (Dymatize ISO-100) a bit pricey but worth it. For my size with a 40p/40c/20f i need to be consuming over 200grams of protein and i am still trying to get it up there, i am usually around 160 - 180grams. (and i do double scoop of protein powder).

Pre-workout: Jack3d - gave me massive jitters, i switched to Cellucor C4 and love it, i cycle pure creatine monohydrate with it right now because i like to push a bit too hard during my workouts, i go until complete failure.Cellucor C4

Post-Workout: So far Beachbody has had the best tasting / side effects post workout drink. I am using Amino-1 by MusclePharm and it's not acting will with my body.

I also take Multivitamins / Niacin / B-Compound / Fish Oil / Extra Fiber

It's working great, in 3.5 weeks dropped 10lbs.

Other areas i am getting protein:

Tuna

Chicken Breast

Haddock (fish)

Egg whites

Lean Turkey bacon

Quest Protein Bars (snack)

Quest Protein Chips (snack)

my variety isn't that big but once i drop another 56lbs i will make it better, it's simpler right now to stick to what works for me atm.